The warlock offered her his arm. It was a strange gesture, especially since he wore a slim black suit on his female body.
“Come with me where we can discuss our plan,” Reaver suggested.
She looped her arm through his. “Lead the way.”
They entered the villa, and Reaver guided her to one of the spacious sitting rooms. Maya and Ben had left her side to get acquainted with the premises.
Lilia walked to the window and peeled back the heavy golden curtain to look out at the serene view of the sun peeking over the mountains in the distance.
Reaver stopped by her side. His voice deepened as he said, “I found Hartwin for you. He is willing to see you.”
“Without Runa, breaking the spell will be difficult. I do not believe we will be able to make another of Arthemis’ children defect and shed blood in my name.”
“You’re right. I heard strange chatter in Europe, too. A Royal vampire named Kallias took a seat on the Council. They believe he knows where the tomb is.”
She broke away from the captivating sight to gape at him. “He will never find the tomb, even if he knows where it is.”
“He may not now, but it won’t take long to figure out. There will be other sirens and warlocks willing to work with them to pry the gate open to the fourth realm.”
Lilia’s eyes widened. “How did you find out?”
No one knew of the fourth realm’s existence. Even the gods believed it was a myth, and she wanted to keep it that way. If one of them found an entrance to it, they could breed another world inside, another nightmare. She couldn’t allow for such knowledge to escape.
“So, I was right.” He smirked. “Everyone knows of the existence of the three realms: Angel, Demon, and Human. No matter how hard I or the Royals have searched the Human Realm, neither could find the tomb. I even enlisted the help of a demon at one point. He couldn’t place where the tomb was either. Horus, too, came up with nothing when I mentioned it. This could only mean one thing. There is a fourth realm no one knows about. It’s a world ready to be populated and shaped where anyone with enough power can become a god.”
She faced him, crossing her arms as she prepared to tap into her powers to silence this warlock once and for all. “And do you plan on claiming it when you find it?”
Reaver’s smirk faded. His dark eyes spoke of his hidden ideas for the new realm. “You know I am only here to repay you for giving me this body. I am not as ambitious as you may think.”
“That realm is unclaimed for a reason, Reaver. Do not attempt to fool me with your false assurances. Every mortal’s hidden wish is to hold more power, to become a god.” Reaching out, she grasped his tie and pulled him closer. “Going against me is going against fate. You do not want to do that.”
He adjusted his tie and stepped out of her reach. “Lilia, you may be old, but you are nothing more than a weak mortal now. Your immortal body died with the ritual or have you forgotten that tidbit?”
Burning anger sizzled in her veins at his disrespect. She bit the inside of her cheek, tasting blood. Her fingertips prickled with unused energy, and she released it, forcing his knees to cave until he was kneeling before her.
Surprise registered on his face when she flicked her wrist and his body lifted into the air. It didn’t take long for his smirk to return.
Horus materialised in front of her target and lifted his hand in the air, ready to purge her.
She balled her hands and released Reaver from her spell. “You did this on purpose. You chose a saint’s body because you wanted an angel as your protector.”
Once the warlock’s feet securely touched the ground, he laughed. “I didn’t know if it would work. I guess the gods were too impatient to wait for another saint to grow up.”
“You have betrayed my trust,” she hissed.
“Don’t forget, I am a businessman. If a better deal comes along, I will take it. But, before that, I am a collector. Even though you are a fascinating creature and have obviously regained some Wiccan powers, being able to find the fourth realm is far better than having a living fate in my possession.”
Maya strode into the room. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Reaver said with a pleased smile. “How do you find your new lodgings?”
The demon glanced at Lilia and took her hand. She led Lilia out of the room, pushing her into the study where books lined every inch of the tall walls. “Did I hear you right? Did he pull one over on you?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Did he lie to you?” Maya said, her voice rising.
“It is nothing you should concern yourself with.”
Maya slammed Lilia’s back against the nearest bookshelf. “Doesn’t concern me? You’re hijacking my best friend. Someone I see as family. If Helena gets hurt because you are doing something dumb, I will punch your lights out until she is back in the driver’s seat. Got it?”
With the amount of strange terms the demon used, Lilia’s head hurt. Yet, she could sense the underlying message that Maya was displeased. In that moment, having a demon on her side was better than being alone. Without help, she would be unable to keep Reaver from doing something as dangerous as claiming the fourth realm and exposing its existence to the other gods.
“Answer me!” Maya snapped, punching the books next to Lilia’s face.
“I am sorry for taking away your friend from you. Such was not my intent. I never wished for other mortals to suffer because of me.” She swallowed, pushing down the forming knot of emotions that made her throat ache. “On this matter, you are correct. Reaver is not my friend. He is willing to sacrifice the safety of everyone in this realm to gain more power.”
“You look worried…”
Lilia nodded. “My son may tear this realm apart in a century or two. He is a great threat, but this is a greater one. We mustn’t allow Reaver achieve his goal. He cannot come with us to the tomb.”
“I doubt he’ll listen.” Maya withdrew and scratched her head with both hands. “I could eat his soul…”
“You shouldn’t do it without consent. If you do, your queen will punish you.”
Maya raised a brow. “How is it you know so much about the Demon Realm?”
“Because Baal paid me a visit shortly after I was cast out of the Angel Realm. For immortality, I allowed her to watch over Arthemis. That was before I knew that she was the reason why my son became a monster.”
“What do you mean?”
Lilia’s face twisted with disgust at the thought of the demon queen and her machinations. “Michael accepted her help in order to return to my side. I thought I could trust her. One day, she told me the truth when she saw Arthemis feeding on a mortal.” Lilia’s jaw clenched tight. “She put the darkness in our son. She is the reason he craves blood.”
Maya cringed. “That’s a pretty disgusting threesome.”
“You must be careful whom you place your trust in, Maya. The colour of a soul doesn’t always dictate whether someone is a monster or not. It simply makes them different.”
“Yeah, well, I also know that Reaver will do what he does best.”
“And what is that?”
Maya grumbled something under her breath. “Obviously, the bastard will go for your weak spot.”
LUCIOUS
Everyone in this realm had their reasons for their actions, and Lucious was no different. He had cast aside his wronged feelings and went down on one knee in front of the three Royals. They had the location of the tomb and, if he wanted to regain some of his freedom, he needed to gain their trust.
“This is quite an unusual behaviour for you,” Kallias said with a quirked brow.
Ealdraed placed his hand on Lucious’ shoulder. “There is no need for you to kneel, young man.”
When Lucious lifted his face, he saw doubt in the Royal’s black eyes. Could it be possible the elder saw right through my plan?
The door to the main living room opened, and Grim robotically strode in. He bowed at
the waist and said, “Pardon my intrusion, Master Lucious, Master Kallias. The possessed problem in Vauxhall is getting worse. The hounds are spread too thin to take care of the issue in the city without your help. And with the ghouls missing…”
Lucious stood and faced the Royals. “I have my duties to attend to. Hans and I will resolve this.”
Kallias shook his head. “Until we find the tomb, it would be best if one of us goes with you, in case you decide to run away from your said duties.”
“I gave my word to be on this Council,” Lucious shot back.
Ealdraed gave Kallias a strange look Lucious couldn’t decipher and nodded. “I will go with him. You and Laclia find the tomb and contact me if anything goes wrong.”
“Yes, brother,” Laclia said with a smile. She looped her arm through Kallias’ and glided out of the room with him.
Grim drew closer. Lucious sensed that there was something the hound wasn’t telling them. Since Grim’s gaze kept flicking to the elder, Lucious assumed it was something he couldn’t voice with Ealdraed in the room.
“Would it be possible for us to speak in private?” Lucious asked.
Ealdraed cast him a curious look. He left the room and closed the door behind him.
The instant the door clicked shut, Grim let out a sigh of relief. He shuffled to Lucious and lowered his voice. “We’ve received a report from America. Your friend is missing, sir.”
The news, unpleasant as they were, didn’t surprise Lucious. If Ben had been in Helena’s vicinity, he had most definitely taken her on some insane venture. With no memories, Helena would not go along with a stranger. Someone like her wouldn’t blindly follow him without an explanation she could stand behind. Dread filled him and his eyes widened with realisation. This could only mean one thing: her memory block was lifted.
Clearing his throat to shake the nerves binding his limbs, he took a step back from the hound and collapsed in the nearby plush seat. Lucious covered his eyes with his hand, imagining the possible scenarios. When he erected the memory block, she was almost on the brink of losing herself. Lilia had gotten too close to the way out.
Does Helena still exist?
“Sir? Is there anything you would like for me to do?” Grim inquired, breaking him out of his nightmare.
“Can you track her?” Lucious glanced at the hound in desperation. “Can you bring her to me?”
“Of course, sir. I will do everything I can.”
“Wait.” Bringing her here was too dangerous. His fingers dug into the armrests of his chair, and he added, “Forget what I said. Don’t search for her and concentrate on tracking the possessed.”
“Are you sure?”
He would never be sure. Letting Helena go was the toughest decision he had to make in his entire existence. It was almost like allowing a part of him to disappear without being able to do a thing about it. He wanted to see her again, to hear her voice. It was a foolish craving. The Royals knew what she was. If they got their hands on her, there would be no telling what they would do to her. Allowing her to get close to him would put her in immediate danger. He couldn’t let her suffer more than she already had.
“You have your orders, Grim. Please take care of the task I have assigned to you.”
The hound bowed his head. “As per your order, I will resume my recon.”
Left alone, Lucious focused his attention on the crackling fire in the marble fireplace. He was a member of the Council, yet he had never felt so powerless. The whole of Europe was against him. With the return of the Royals, the Councils were a mere formality. They held no power as a single word from those elders was law. No matter what, he had to stay alive long enough to keep Helena from harm.
The ache in his throat re-emerged, and he rubbed it better. The thirst would get the better of him soon enough unless he fed. The Royals had found out about his weakness. A single command from them to the rest of the community, and he would be sentenced to death.
Why haven’t they acted?
“Why the long face?” Ealdraed asked, taking a seat in the armchair opposite him. “I take it you are discontent with the way we do things.”
“Does it matter what I think?”
“It does. You are our children. We understand your worry, and it is not unfounded. I, too, am apprehensive about Father’s return.”
For the first time, Lucious saw fear briefly flashing across the Royal’s face. Since the others were so keen on awakening Arthemis, shouldn’t this man be excited or happy? “What is Arthemis like?”
Leaning back in his seat, Ealdraed cast his gaze to the dancing fire. His features never changed from the impenetrable stone mask he wore. “Father is many things.”
“What does that mean?”
“Allow me to rephrase that. Our Father is many things but human he is not.”
Lucious tried to understand the meaning behind those words. He knew that the first vampire was not created from a human. He was Lilia’s and Michael’s son, which made him a strange hybrid of an angel and a fate. But neither fates nor angels craved blood or seemed to need abnormal sustenance. Where did the thirst come from? Was the original vampire unaffected by it? Could it be that only his descendants craved the blood of the mortals?
“I believe it is the time we take care of the demonic problem in the city. We cannot allow for our existence to be revealed just yet,” Ealdraed said.
“Yet?” Lucious’ eyes narrowed. “Are you planning on exposing us to humans?”
“I have once more worried you without reason. My apologies,” Ealdraed said with the same empty smile.
Lucious couldn’t piece together this man’s personality. He didn’t sense any animosity or disloyalty coming from the elder. On the other hand, he could feel nothing good, either. It was as if this man had locked away his true emotions and thoughts beyond an impregnatable wall.
With a nod, Lucious got up and indicated for the Royal to lead the way.
The strong, overwhelming stink of the Thames distorted his senses. That made it harder to pinpoint the location of the possessed vampire. He crouched in the shadows, waiting for the possessed to strike the obvious victim—a lonesome woman stumbling along in her drunken stupor as she wandered down the long alleyway. One of the lights was out up ahead. If it was Lucious, he would strike the minute she reached that point. But, the possessed had proven to have erratic behaviour. They never seemed to rely on strategy. Rather, what drove them was pure instinct. To combat such a creature, he would need to do the same.
Lucious’ attention was drawn to the heavy hand landing on his shoulder. Ealdraed squatted next to him and pointed to the woman ahead.
“She may get hurt if we leave her alone like this,” the Royal whispered.
Lucious raised a brow. “It seems odd for you to care for humans.”
Ealdraed shrugged. “I do not enjoy seeing others get hurt. If there is a logical solution to a problem, I am willing to seek it out prior to using my fists.”
“What do you propose we do? She is bait. Without her, it would be hard to draw the possessed out.”
For a long second, Ealdraed was silent. He then stood and said, “I will guide the woman to safety. Wait here.”
“You would jeopardise our chance to catch the beasts roaming the streets for a mortal?” Lucious demanded.
“Call it being a gentleman.” He fleeted to the woman’s side before she could stumble into the dark patch of the alley and steadied her with a gentle touch.
From a distance, Lucious watched the woman’s expression change from shock to pleasure when her eyes landed on the elder’s face. She seemed content with the way he looked and allowed him to aid her in finding her way back to a crowded place.
As the Royal turned his back, something in the shadows behind him shifted. Lucious reached for his silver knife. A gun would make too much noise here. He crept after the duo, careful to keep his body hidden in the dark of the night.
A dozen feet later, he was able to see the glowing red
orbs behind the set of stacked crates discarded by the nearby restaurant. The creature’s eyes focused on the woman with Ealdraed. Drool ran down the panting vampire’s chin. His tongue darted out to wet his cracked lips and a warning snarl escaped him when the woman was almost out of the alley. He launched at them.
Wasting no time, Lucious fleeted after him and grasped the vampire by his shredded jacket. The material fell apart at his touch and the beast managed to get close enough to jump onto Ealdraed’s back.
A scream escaped the woman. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers. She stood there, petrified, watching the ongoing events with a gaping mouth.
Lucious got to her in time to push her out of the way of the struggling vampires on the ground. “Get out of here!”
She bobbed her head and started to run. One of her heels snapped, and she tumbled to the ground, scraping her left knee.
The smell of blood reached them. Lucious stilled, his own hunger spiked and his eyes lit with the red glow he wished to hide from the rest of the world.
At the same time, the possessed vampire became distracted long enough for Ealdraed to plunge the silver dagger into his heart.
An ear-piercing howl escaped the beast and, as his last stand, he clawed at the Royal’s face, leaving four bleeding raw marks.
Clicking his tongue in distaste, Ealdraed flipped the blade in his free hand and cut the head clean off of the vampire’s shoulders.
Lucious pushed the withering creature to one side and offered the elder his hand.
Ealdraed ignored him and rushed to the woman who was cradling her knee and weeping like a lost child. What Lucious witnessed next shocked him. The Royal knelt in front of her. He rubbed the wounds on his face, covering his fingers in blood. With a tender and reassuring smile, he spread the dark liquid on her scraped skin.
“It will be alright with this,” Ealdraed assured her.
The woman, still in shock, rocked back and forth. Lucious continued to observe the elder who cupped her cheek and guided her face to meet his.
Her features relaxed and her arms became slack.
“You will forget everything that happened here tonight. Go home. Remember to take a nice hot shower before you sleep,” Ealdraed said in a soothing voice.
Fated Origins: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 4) Page 9
